Bridging The GAP Vol 2 Issue 4 2017

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Vol. 2, Issue 4, September 2017

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Our Mission of BTGM is to showcase Christian Authors who are writing to GLORIFY the

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Kingdom of God!

What’s Inside this Issue…  

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Stephanie Parke

Cynthia Middlebrook Harris Deborah Dunson’s Top 10 Fall Reads for 2017 The 8 Prayer Watches: Unleash the Power of Prayer

Melinda Inman, Author of No Longer Alone

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Mission of Bridging The Gap Magazine: *The Mission of Bridging The Gap Magazine, is to showcase Christian Authors who are writing to glorify the Kingdom of God, while calling others from the secular realm and into the

Inside This Issue:

Spiritual realm to use their gifts and talents that they

Page 2- Mission of BTGM & MORE!!!!!!!!!!

have been equipped to use by God.

Page 3- Publishers Page *The Theme of Bridging The Gap Magazine, is recognizing the elements of truth that leads to GOD through literature.

Bridging The Gap Magazine’s Foundation scripture is inspired from Jeremiah chapter 30, verse two, which says: “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Write all the words that I have spoken to you in a book.” (Amplified Version).

Page 4– Deborah Dunson’s Top 10 Fall Reads Page 6– Author Melinda Inman of No Longer Alone

Page 18- The 8 Prayer Watches Page 20– Stephanie Parke

*Connect with us on Facebook at:

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Middlebrook Harris

*Email us at: bridgingthegapmag2016@gmail.com

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Publishers Page

A Word from BTG Magazine Publisher Deborah Dunson:

Hello Bridging The GAP readers! Have you ever read a book and felt as if you were no longer alone? It felt as if the author was inside your head; reading your thoughts and penning them to paper.

I have had that feeling many times. Books are my comfort, they are like friends who understand my sorrows, pains, hurts and joy. I am currently reading Wind Follower by Carole McDonnell and I am blown away.

This author lets me know through Wind Follower, that I am not alone in my understanding of the marriage relationship. It gives me great joy when I find that special book that speaks to me; that lets me know that it is ok to be different and that quietly whispers, you are no longer alone!

A Word from BTG Magazine Publisher Clarissa Rhinehart: I will truthfully say these words, a room without books, is like a soul without a body! I spent much of my childhood reading books and they would take me to places that I dreamt of going, while I also had people who were there with me within the pages of the story. We live in a day and age where digital technology is taking over, but I personally never feel alone when I know that I have a bestselling book within my possession that I can literally turn the pages of and highlight and write within it everything that I receive from it! As my business partner said, I feel that books are my comfort and so much more! They BLOW me a way!

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Deborah Dunson’s Top 10 FALL Reads for 2017

1. My Life As An Onion by Carole McDonnell, 2. The Way by Guy Stanton III 3. Anna Lucia by Liz Galvano, 4. Rose of the Oath by Hope Ann 5. The English Proposal by Jenna Brandt, 6. Grave Obsessions Vol. 1 by Patti Smith 7. This Kind of Love by Y Deonna, 8. Ayiti by Vacirca Vaughn 9. Your to Love by Cathy Jackson, 10. Alcatraz The Lost Pearl by A.R. Robinson

Fall into a GOOD BOOK!

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Author Melinda Inman of No Longer Alone

ByDeborah Dunson

Melinda Inman was raised in a storytelling family. There her roots were sunk. During years of relocation, tragedy struck. Wounded and heartbroken, Melinda forsook her roots and ran from herself and from God. A journey of trial and heartache brought her home again. A prodigal now returned, she writes with passion, illustrating God's love for wounded people as He makes beauty from ashes.

In her book, No Longer Alone, Inman takes you through a journey of lessons that can help us today, while we put our complete trust in God to bring us through!

Enjoy this exclusive interview with this amazing, and talented author.

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1. When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

I grew up in a storytelling family. As a young child, I remember being captivated by my grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ stories, listening in without the adults having any awareness that I heard. There was a wild elopement on one side of my family, so my Black Dutch great-grandfather could marry the woman who became my great-grandmother. They had eleven children. On the other side of my family, there was a Cherokee heritage and a participation in the Oklahoma Land Run in a covered wagon. When all of that is in your blood, it provides great scope for the imagination.

2. What is the first thing you wrote?

As a child I eventually began to write the family stories. My first stories were drawn, rather than written, because I didn’t have the ability to write yet. My early childhood and Kindergarten drawings were these stories and the tales of my parents’ growing up years.

3. How is kingdom writing different from secular writing?

I find it’s impossible for me to write “secularly.” My relationship with Christ permeates every part of my life, my decision-making, and my goals. Therefore, when I write about a topic, He’s all woven through the issue, as He truly is. My stories all contain Christ. I seek to make it as natural as breathing, not preachy or forced or out of character. Christ is in all and over all. He must show up in my writing, or I’m not writing authentically.

4. Is there one of your books that you would love to be made into a movie? If so, which one and why?

I’d have to say No Longer Alone would be my choice for the big screen today.

The story illustrates lessons we need today—learning to trust God during times of difficulty and upheaval, racial harmony, and the importance of church.

5. Who are some of your favorite authors?

I’ve always gravitated toward the classics. Growing up it was Louisa May Alcott. I’m also a Jane Austen girl. I love Charles Dickens, and I believe Victor Hugo wrote a masterpiece for the ages with Les Miserables.

6. Give us a brief synopsis of your current book, No Longer Alone.

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The sequel to No Longer Alone begins about a year later, just as America enters WWI. Prentis and Avery Pinkerton find their challenges have doubled. Not only must they learn to trust God’s sovereignty with their crops, their new son, their fertility, and their church life, but they find that the march to bring the America into the war in Europe brings unstoppable change into every aspect of their lives as well—family, home, church, community. The rapid preparation for deployment to war mows through every established norm, institution, and tranquil moment, sweeping along everyone in the community. Add to this more vicious gossip from Mrs. Alfonse Riley that strikes at the core of all Avery holds sacred. This brings a return of the lifelong struggle Prentis has had with church attendance when their young pastor goes off to be part of the chaplaincy in Europe. And then Avery’s health takes a serious turn, threatening her ability to bear any more children. Can they learn to trust Christ when everything seems out of control? How will they survive their losses and their new adjustments?

7. What advice would you give writers who want to write Christian fiction?

Write the story God gives you. It will be for the audience He intends, even if no one else understands why you’re writing that story. He’ll open the doors at the right time and always hone your craft. Every writer can improve. Buy Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. Apply all of it.

8. When you hear Bridging The GAP Magazine what do you think of?

In my mind, it means reaching across the division to bring others into the Kingdom of God. We do this with winsome stories and novels that show the real struggles with sin and the real solutions God offers. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy. Christian writers fill the role of modern-day prophets in proclaiming the truth of the gospel in story form and in our blog content..

9. What do you want to leave behind as a legacy?

I want to love the people in my life with the fervency of God’s love, unconditionally and wholly. I want them to have no doubt of my love for them. I also want my people to know I loved Jesus and that I trusted Him, and, because of that love and trust, I want them to come to know Him better. When I’m gone, if my children, grandchildren, friends, and readers know this, I will be satisfied.

For more information on the Author Melinda Inman, please visit her website: http://melindainman.com

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The 8 Prayer Watches: Unleash The Power of PRAYERBy– Clarissa Rhinehart

The 8 Prayer Watches: Unleash The Power of Prayer, was birthed out from a four part teaching series while I was teaching the strategies and tactics of prayer to my church for bible study sessions. My notes literally from my teachings, became a BOOK! God is so amazing on how He uses us when we don’t even realize that we are being used to HELP enhance, equip, and empower His Kingdom. I am forever grateful for what God has allowed me to do and the many great things yet that are to come from this book that is a MUST for every Power-Packed Prayer Warrior that will ever exist!

It is time that we began to pray with targets to H.I.T. (HAVE INTENTIONAL TARGETS), that will dismantle the Kingdom of Darkness with a mighty force from PRAYER! We have been given the greatest weapon of all, PRAYER, and NOW it’s time to UNLEASH the POWER that we as Believers POSSESS from it!

Are you AWARE in what Prayer Watch hour you can PRAY against destruction?

Are you AWARE in what Prayer Watch hour you can PRAY for deliverance to take place?

Are you AWARE in what Prayer Watch hour you can wage War within the Spiritual Realm for angelic hosts from God to be released, or what Prayer Watch hour you can pray to silence the tongues of curses from your life and SO MUCH MORE??

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The Starlight Drive In By Stephanie Parke Sadie sighed and wiped her eyes again as the miles slipped away. She’d been driving for over an hour but she had been up since four. She was tired, and she had made the mistake of thinking that it would be a great idea to stay up all night before work. The call of motherhood had kept her up, silly her for wanting to keep her feverish child company. She focused again on the road but found herself drifting off again. She knew she should pull over but she was in the middle of a busy interstate and there was nothing for miles.

She perked up as she saw the shining star sign glowing in the distance. She knew it must be god’s way of showing her the way to safety because she instantly felt invigorated and headed right toward it crossing three lanes of traffic to reach it. The Starlight Drive in had been around since the fifties. It had seen better days, its polished wood and red naughahide seats had cracks in them a finger width wide and the lighting which had been installed in the fifties made the holes look bigger. The décor hadn’t been updated since the seventies but Sadie was glad to see it. It was like coming home in a way because The Starlight had been part of her small town history since before she could remember. She had gone to eat dinner there with her parents on many occasions before she grew up and understood the meaning of disappointment and divorce.

Sadie pulled to a stop with another sigh and opened the squeaky door of her 66 mustang fastback. It too had been around decades before she was born and needed updating but she loved it. She shuffled to the door, feet pounding from a long day of teaching. She still had twenty minutes of drive time left but the insistent growling of her stomach and the decided droop of her eyelids was telling her that she had to stop. She pulled the door open and it moved with a quick swish as she stepped into the hamburger scented air. The smell of starlight sauce and crinkle fries tickled her nose and she smiled as she remembered being eight again and coming here to her daddy’s favorite place. She seated herself as the sign directed and tried not to let herself remember the good times too much, even now it hurt.

She opened the menu and looked it over. She only really had time for a quick bite then she had to get on the road again, but the drive and the surprising comfort of the cracked seats made her want to stay awhile. She stared at the same menu from when she was a child and smiled slightly at the old ketchup stains and grease embedded into the menu. She picked up the phone to place her order and waited.

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Her mind drifted back over the years to all the times they had come here, as a family. Then later when they had come here alone. She felt the old familiar sadness drift over her as she remembered how she used to love to come here with daddy back before her daddy disappeared. Now she occasionally brought her own son’s here with her husband and it felt as if the two times were becoming tangled together sometimes. She hummed along with the tune playing overhead as she listened to the static on the phone as she waited to order. When the waitress finally picked up, she ordered the same thing she’d ordered since she was a child, a starlight burger and crispy fries. She smiled as she placed the phone back in the cradle and watched the people at the surrounding tables.

Time seemed to drift and shift and the people‘s faces at the booths around her blurred and she suddenly felt eight years old again. She could almost see her small hands tracing over coloring pages with cheap crayons and could hear her mother’s voice. She shook at the memory, it had been so long since she’d heard her mother’s voice that she’d almost forgotten the deep husky sound of her laugh.

Sadie smiled as she played with her straw wrapper, she missed her mother a little more every day. It seemed the closer she got to the age she lost her, the more she missed her. She wasn’t sure how it was possible twenty years after her mother’s death, but it was true. She would turn thirty-seven in august and if she were honest with herself, somewhere inside she wondered if she would die young too.

She heard her mother’s voice again as if it were happening now and she turned her head at the sound of footsteps leading up to the top of the restaurant where they always sat.

She turned to nod politely to the stranger but felt the straw drop from her nerveless fingers.

Her eyes moved over the woman standing there and she felt time bend. She was at once eight and thirty six at the same time. She could see a family sitting at the bottom of the stairs, laughing and talking and her mind bent as the woman smiled at her.

“Mind if I sit down?” The stranger asked as she pulled out a seat across from her.

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Excerpt from Chapter Eight of “The Fight For Life” By Cynthia Middlebrooks Harris

Bernard stood in the basement in front of the television as though he were about to make an announcement.

He looked at Teddy, smiled and cleared his throat, “Yes pastor, and then my wife laid her hands on me—” All the guys burst out laughing.

“Ahhhh—man. Okay, y’all got jokes.

I saw y’all in the back of the church earlier. I can only imagine what was being said,” Derrick laughed.

Jaison interjected, “Oh you don’t have to imagine. We're about to give you round two.”

Suddenly, Teddy yelled, “Wait, wait, wait. Y'all hear that?”

Bernard replied almost in a panic, “What?”

“I hear something outside. A weird sound. Y’all don’t hear that?” Teddy said as he walked over to a window and looked through the curtain. “Oh, never mind. I recognize that sound. It’s just the aftershock of them Goodfellow mating screams that came out of NayNay’s mouth.”

The room erupted in, ooo’s, oh man’s, and all out laughter.

“Teddy you're wrong, man. You sold me out like that? The information in that phone call was supposed to be between me and you. You’re supposed to be my big brother!” Derrick exclaimed in laughter. “Y’all, I tried to get all ten months’ worth in one weekend. I didn’t let her tail get no sleep.”

“Yeah, I’m with you there. I told Talinda the same thing because she was chastising us for teasing about it in church. I said, go away from me if you want to trippin’ for ten months.

When you come back, you’re gonna get it,” Bernard replied. They laughed again.

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“But all jokes aside guys. This has been the longest and hardest year of my life. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about Callisha. It was so hard not being able to cover Nevette. Not being able to comfort her. She was hurting so bad, and I was the cause of it. Teddy, I promised you, dad and Jason that I would protect her with my life—” Teddy interrupted, “It’s not the same thing, Derrick. You didn’t have an affair, and you didn’t kill Callisha. Heck, Suzette didn’t intend to kill her either for that matter. Callisha’s death was an accident. You couldn’t foresee that happening. There is no way you could have protected NayNay from the series of events that transpired. Things happen—life happens.”

Derrick shook his head. He continued as though Teddy hadn’t said a word. “I couldn’t relate to Nevette. It’s like we were on two different planets. I couldn’t read her anymore.

Guys, listen to your wives. Don’t walk down this road. Having to bury my baby girl—that thing took everything my wife had. It almost took her life.” He had to pause to gather his emotions. “I couldn’t even imagine. As hard as I hurt, the thought of ending my life never entered my mind. With Tre—I didn’t realize everything I was saying to him was damaging to her.

Everything I did the past year hurt her. I couldn’t do anything without hurt being the result.

Everything I touched fell apart and dissolved. It was crazy. The two weeks she was missing, I almost went insane. I think that hurt worse than losing Callisha. But in those two weeks, I finally understood her hurt. The bible says in marriage, two becomes one. I understood more how it felt for her with the loss of the baby. Nevette is a part of me, just like Callisha was a part of her. I know she had my DNA too, but Nevette had a connection with her and Tre, that I will never have. A mother's bond with the baby growing inside of her is one of the most powerful forces on earth. If she would have gone through with ending her life, I don’t know if I would have been able to take it. Guys just—listen to your wives when it comes to another woman. Women know the hidden motives of other women, just like we know when a man is running game on a girl.” He paused to run his hand from the front of his head to the back. He looked toward heaven, “I just have to have another daughter. I just pray that she’s pregnant with Zoë.” {About the Author: Cynthia Middlebrooks Harris is an ordained minister, native of Atlanta, Georgia and Christian Fiction author who has published six books. Cynthia is a true intercessor with a passion and heart to see the people of God healthy spiritually, emotionally and physically. She is a teacher, playwright and Christian mentor and is currently working to earn her degree as a Registered Dietician. Her work has appeared in Higher Connection magazine twice and her ministry expanded to Kaiserslautern, West Germany in 2014. Connect with Cynthia by Email: tosotministries@gmail.com and on Facebook: T.O.S.O.T. Ministries, LLC}

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Avalon has been a nurse for 34years. She has lived in Newark, NJ most of her life. A devoted church goer and one who believes that God wants her to serve Him with all of her heart, mind, and soul.

She faced many oppositions during her nursing career but never gave up.

Her book is meant to show and give strength and encouragement to people on their jobs and how to deal with the issues that may arise on a daily basis on the job.

Check out her website:

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